Sweet Remembrances Annual Holiday Tea - 2021

 The tea room is decorated a week before Thanksgiving in preparation for the holiday celebrations that begin the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. The tea pot tree is in its place, the holiday china pulled from storage, and seasonal music is in the air. Always a popular way to entertain out of town guests, or simply an opportunity to get 'into the spirit', these holiday teas have been a tradition for well over thirty years! 

Once our guests are seated, individual pots of tea with their selected flavor are served. Once everyone has their tea, a fresh green salad topped with red and green apples, Parmesan Cheese, sugared pecans and sweet craisins, dressed with a homemade cranberry dressing is served.

The sandwich array is presented next. This holiday it featured an Apple Sandwich with Cinnamon Honey Butter on Raising Bread. The tip of the sandwich was covered with pecans. There was a Pimiento Cheese Sandwich topped with petite garlic sweet pickles. A warm and savory Rolled Asparagus Sandwich with blue cheese filling graced the plate while a Cranberry Pistachio Chicken Salad Sandwich was served on white bread. A Puff Pastry sandwich with Goat Cheese and assorted vegetables completed the plate of sandwiches. 

The featured scones included our customary Traditional English cream Scone served alongside a Cranberry Orange Pecan Scone. Sweet Cream, Orange Marmalade and Fresh Fruit completed the plate.

The dessert medley included a Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Rosette frosting, a Snickerdoodle cookie with cinnamon chips in the cookie, and a yummy Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream Topping. That one seemed to be the favorite. A special thank you to all of our guests that attended the first holiday teas of the 2021 season.

Santa-themed trinkets in the hallway include a jolly old tea-for-one pot that I'm sure Santa would just love. The little stitchery in the frame was worked by a family friend and says 'Santa's Pot of Tea'. Lots of little treasures can be found throughout the tea room that add to the festivity. 

Tea by Two, Bel Air, MD

After a long year plus of Zoom sessions, members of the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association (MATBA) gathered together in person at fellow tea business Tea by Two in Bel Air, MD for their quarterly meeting in October. The day begins with a morning welcoming session as members traveled from NJ, PA, and MD to attend this special gathering. Assorted flavors of tea seated upon warming pots greeted the members. There was also a mini breakfast buffet with an egg casserole, fresh fruit, and jumbo sweet muffins.  

Since this took place in October, the tea room décor was set for the fall season. Owners Janet and Erin have been active members of the tea association since it was first created in 2005. Their welcoming hospitality was a good place to enjoy our first official in-person gathering. After an informative program, we gathered in the gift shop as the tables were being set for tea.  

Individual teapots offered members a chance to select their personal favorite tea among a wide selection of choices. Once the tables were set, members seated, and the first cup of tea was poured, the tea service began. There is a Pai Mu Tan white tea in the coordinated white tea pot.

Thick and warm Butternut Squash soup was the first course. A perfect selection for this fall afternoon. After the soup, the three tiered tray laden with a wide variety of seasonal tea time treats was presented to each table.

Scones, Sandwiches, and Desserts rounded out the tier.

The Tea Sandwiches, served on the middle tier, included a Cucumber Sandwich, Roast Beef, Carrot & Cheddar on pumpernickel rye bread, and Pumpkin & Apple Sandwich. All very fresh and tasty.

A warm Cranberry Scone served with lemon curd and sweet cream was on the bottom tier.

The top tier held a delectable array of desserts, their 'happy ending' that included Pumpkin Spice Muffin, an Autumn Sugar Cookie, and an Almond Toffee Bar. All delicious.

MATBA President, Debbie Raab of Tea-For-All in Trenton, NJ, presided over the business portion of the gathering. Tea-for-All will be the destination for our next in-person meeting in April 2022. Our membership consists of tea business entrepreneurs, tea room owner, tea bloggers, and tea educators, within a 7 state region, including NY, NJ, MD, PA, DE, WV, VA and DC. We also have out-of-region membership opportunities, and we offer Zoom meetings for those unable to attend. Fellow member and tea mentor Jennifer Petersen of Tea Trade Mart joined the meeting via Zoom from Vancouver, WA.

Shopping and socializing in the gift shop before and again after the meeting. It was a good opportunity to be gathered with fellow tea business enthusiasts for the afternoon. Special thanks to Erin and Janet for hosting our first in-person gathering. 

Looking for a clever way to display teacups that no longer have their saucers? Here's a unique idea that you might consider.

 

Piccadilly Coffee & Tea House, Lancaster, PA

Earlier this year, a 'girl's getaway' coupled with a birthday celebration took us on a quick jaunt to Lancaster, PA to Piccadilly Coffee & Tea House. This casual destination satisfies both the coffee drinker and the tea connoisseur as it cleverly divides the modern coffee area from the traditional tea house seating area. Of course, we enjoyed the afternoon tea part of this location.

There is a wide assortment of teas to select, always making it a difficult choice! Our group of four each chose a different flavor, offering the chance for each of us to sample the others selection. We had a range of flavors from a lovely herbal, spicy chai, and traditional black tea. The tea was brought to the table with a small timer and instructions to enjoy your tea after the steeping time ended.

The tiered tray was laden with a wide variety of sandwiches, scones and desserts.

We were eager to sample and savor the variety on the tier. And happy to be enjoying a Sunday afternoon tea with friend Patti who met us here.

 This is the view looking back into the coffee shop area while seated in the tea house area. The cushioned blue chairs are part of the tea room section. 

A Fortnum & Mason Hamper Thank you!

Such an incredible and generous thank you gift traveled across the pond and landed on our very doorstep. We are humbled by the thoughtfulness of tea friends with this lovely surprise from the fabulous upscale department store in Piccadilly, London, England. Only ever a dream, a Fortnum & Mason Hamper was ours to open.

Packed full of lovely and delicious tea related items, we opened the hamper to find two tall elegantly slender cookie tins containing Pistachio & Clotted Cream Biscuits and Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nut Biscuits. The Macadamia Nut Biscuits are described as being rich, dark biscuits with an early crunch that manages to melt away in the mouth, being 'reliably remarkable'. Simply reading the tins is pleasurable!

The Pistachio & Clotted Cream Biscuits contain pistachios from monkey-filled forests, and clotted cream from English herds. Charmingly delicious descriptions.

Underneath the cookies, the second layer contained two tins of Fortnum's tea, including Earl Grey Classic and an Assam. Fortnum & Mason is famous for tea, and began trading in 1707, quickly establishing a tradition for quality and service that has been maintained to this day. The tins are gorgeous, reading the history on each tin is fascinating.  A large jar of Strawberry preserves and a round box of Sea Salted Caramel Truffles completed the gift. The description of the truffles; milk and dark chocolate sea salted caramel truffles balance lavish caramel with fine grey sea salt from the French Island of Noirmoutier. Opposites attract. While the bottom of the truffles listed a 'best by' date followed by the small print, -if you haven't indulged sooner. No need to worry about the 'best by' date. 

Thank you so much to incredible friends for this lavish gift. We are still enjoying it!

 

Happy Halloween Afternoon Tea - 2021

The last two Sunday afternoons in October are dedicated to our annual hauntingly delightful Halloween Teas. The scene is set with a backdrop of ghouls and goblins in the garden, and a few themed decorations in the tea room. The tables are set with spider webs and bats flying from the centerpieces. Pumpkin decorated cookies smile at our guests as they are seated. The first course includes a Creamy Cabbage, Apple and Entrails Slaw. Sure to delight with a crisp crunch of entrails.

The sandwich plate included Warm and Cheesy Pumpkin Tartlet, Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog Savory Phyllo Cup, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus & Olive Eyeball, Day of the Dead Chicken Salad and RIP Pimiento Cheese Pumpernickel Casket.

Oven fresh scones featured a triangular Pumpkin Pecan Scone, a Ghost of a Scone (the traditional English Cream Scone) served with Sweet Cream and Orange Marmalade. Sliced bananas, fresh strawberries and boo-berries with a Brown Sugar Cream rounded out the plate with a jelly pumpkin for a touch of whimsy

Dessert, served on a pumpkin napkin included our spicy Pumpkin Nut Roll and Matcha Ogre Eyes. 

Our guests are encouraged to stroll the haunted gardens, if they dare!

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Bats

We've been celebrating Halloween during teatime this month. A quick and easy teatime treat are these Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Bats. They feature Pumpkin Pie Spice (available at The Rosemary House) which adds a lovely spicy dimension to the cookies, which perfectly pairs with Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice tea or a plain black tea such as Queen Catherine (both available at the herb and spice gift shop). Quick and easy to make, you'll be sitting down to tea and brown bats in no time!

 

Pumpkin Spice Shortbread

1/2 c. butter (no substitutions)

1/4 c. brown sugar

 1 c. plus 2 T. flour

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Gradually stir in flour. When blended, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead till smooth, about 3 minutes. I like to use a rolling pin that flattens the dough into a perfect 3/8-inch thickness before cutting out the cookies with various cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet, prick with a fork, and bake for 25 minutes, just until bottoms are beginning to brown. Yields about 20 (2- to 3-inch) cookies. 

This recipe was originally shared by Angela McRae on her Tea With Friends blog. She has graciously permitted us to share her recipe here. If you want to see her original post (Angela made fall leaves), follow this Tea With Friends link. Thank you, Angela!

The tea room has been decorated all month with a Halloween theme. These are a few of our 'going batty' decor. The gardens are haunted as well. If you're in the area, stop and stroll the gardens, if you dare!

Hello, September! A month of festivals!

Farewell, August! Hello, September!

 September marks a month of festivals at The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances. In the early part of the month, we are celebrating our 27th Annual Fairy Festival on the weekend of September 11th and 12th from 10 am - 4 pm. Perhaps you can join us in the magical gardens for a day full of whimsical fun! Activities include Fairy Fashions, Ivy Fairy Halos, Magic Wands, Fairy Crafts, Pixie Face Paining, Fairy Food on the Fly, and much more! We are looking forward to hosting this festival again this year.

And, at the end of the month is the 4th Annual PA Tea Festival, also held outside in the fragrant herb gardens of The Rosemary House in charming downtown Mechanicsburg. Held of Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25 from 9 am - 4 pm, there is a variety of merchants and vendors, a wide range of teas and herbal tisanes to sample and purchase, tea tastings, informative programs, and musical entertainment. Admission is $15/person with additional fees for specific tea tasting sessions. 

We hope to see you this month! Dancing with fairies, and sipping tea. Won't you join us?